Cuschmares
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: Set a month after the Mummy 3, Jennifer is having nightmares of the events. Alex's friend Megan is coming to visit but the old friends aren't getting along to well. Jennifer has to babysit the quarlling friends and strange happens begin to occur... (Statu
1. Insomniac

Okay, disclaimer time: most of these characters don't belong to me. Let's see, anyone from the first and second "Mummy" movie don't belong to me, they belong to Universal Studios. Also, the character Megan and everything about her don't belong to me, they belong to Eviefan, so go read her stories. I'm just burrowing Megan; which brings me to another point, if anyone wants to 'borrow' Jennifer, just e-mail me and I might let you, I probably will because I'm a nice person ;) E-mail me at TheScreamQueen13@aol.com.   
Without further ado, continue with the story; please R&R   
NOTE: 'Cuschmares' which is the title is French for 'Nightmares.'   
LAST NOTE: Story takes place about half a month after "The Mummy III-The Awakening".   
  
  
  
Chapter One   
Insomniac   
  
  
  
Night had fallen on the O'Connell manor; all was dark inside the house except one light on that was always left on. The moonlight from the silver dollar shaped moon shown against the branches of the trees that surrounded the manor and cast finger like shadows on the cream-colored carpet below.   
Down the long hall on the second floor, the bedrooms to the manor's inhabitants: Rick O'Connell, his wife Evelyn, their son Alex and Evelyn's little sister Jennifer. The first door on the right was the large bathroom that Jennifer and her nephew shared; there was a large claw-foot tub that was pushed against the side of the wall.   
In first door on the right was Alex's room; the ten-year old boy was sleeping peacefully in his large bed. His head was nestled against the plush pillow and for once, he was sleeping in a normal position. Alex's room looked like any other nine-year olds' room would look except there were a lot more books crammed onto the wooden bookshelf; Alex's trucks lay all over the floor, despite what his father and mother said about picking them up.   
The second room to the left was Alex's parent's bedroom; Evelyn and Rick shared a king-sized bed. The room was very neat with a bookshelf pressed against each wall; the room connected to a bathroom which was not as large as the other bathroom but large enough to suit their needs. Rick and Evelyn lay snuggled against each other in a deep sleep.  
The last bedroom on the hall was perhaps the largest, or maybe the second largest (Rick and Evelyn's being the first). Inside this bedroom, Jennifer Carnahan, nineteen-year-old sister to Evelyn and Jonathan, tried to sleep. The room was really a guest room or the room that Jonathan (Jennifer and Evelyn's older brother) stayed in when he had lost all his money gambling and couldn't pay the rent on his flat. At the moment, however, Jennifer was using the room while Rick, herself and Evelyn were fixing up the only downstairs bedroom for her. The room had the largest windows of all the bedrooms in the O'Connell house; the two windows took up the left wall. The windows were uncurtained, letting in the pasty pale light of the moon and the shadows that were associated with the dark. Jennifer lay, her head in the middle of a few propped up pillows, trying as hard as she could to sleep. However, all her efforts were failing because of the frequent nightmares Jennifer had been having for the past two weeks.   
All of her nightmares involved her, Evelyn, Alex and Rick in the Egyptian desert where the oasis of Amh-Shre used to be. There, they had to face the God of Death Anubis, just as they had not long ago; only this time the outcome wasn't like the true outcome. Jennifer had to watch while Anubis brutally murdered the O'Connells and then he killed her. And the dreams were so real that Jennifer had trouble sleeping and always awoke in a cold sweat; she never told the O'Connells about her nightmares because a nineteen year old wasn't supposed to have 'nightmares' like a nine-year-old would. Besides, Jennifer figured they would just simply 'go away' anyway, once she got used to her new life in London was her only family.   
Tonight, however, Jennifer hadn't been plagued by nightmares because she hadn't fallen asleep. Jennifer had spent all night tossing and turning and listening to the light rain fall on the windowpane; Jennifer was also awake when the rain had stopped and the clouds disappeared and the moon cast eerie shadows on the ground and into her room.   
Jennifer sighed and threw the bedcovers away from her body, finally have had enough tossing and turning. Jennifer climbed out of bed and silently walked to the door. Jennifer's clammy hand wrapped itself around the copper doorknob and slowly twisted it open. Jennifer peered out into the dark hall, the single light downstairs reminded Jennifer of 'a light at the end of a tunnel'. Jennifer silently walked downstairs and entered the kitchen, glancing up at the old grandfather clock against the sitting room wall. The clock read 3:30 am; Jennifer sighed, it was going to be a long night and a long day.   
Jennifer entered the kitchen; her bare feet tingled against the cold tile floor. The O'Connell's cat, Cleo, looked up at her as she entered the kitchen; Cleo was curled up against the oven, which was still warm from supper that evening. Cleo yawned and stretched then walked over to Jennifer, rubbing against her ankles.  
Jennifer walked to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of milk; Alex had told her that warm milk was the best cure for sleeplessness. However, Jennifer wasn't suffering from sleeplessness -though she was being to wonder if she was really becoming an insomniac- but she figured the milk was worth a try. Jennifer walked to one of the cabinets and took out one saucer, one cup and one stove-pan; she poured some of the milk into the saucer and set it down for Cleo. The cat meowed and began lapping up the milk.   
Jennifer poured some of the milk into stove-pan and put the pan on one of the burners. Jennifer went to but the milk back in the refrigerator and grabbed the book of matches out of a nearby door.   
Jennifer walked back to the stove and took out one of the matches. Jennifer struck the match against the book and lit the stove burner; Jennifer blew out the match and put the book back.   
When she returned to the stove, the milk was warm and on the verge of becoming hot. Carefully, Jennifer lifted the stove-pot off of the burner and without looking let the pot on the counter. The pot, however, did not land on the counter but teetered over the edge. When Jennifer took her hands off of the handle to blow the fire out of the stove, the stove-pot flipped over the edge and clattered onto the floor. The milk spilled everywhere; Cleo hissed and leapt onto the kitchen table, where she was not allowed. The milk burnt the tips of Jennifer's bare-toes before she could jump away. When the pot had fallen, Jennifer spun around instantly, startled and surprised.   
Jennifer stared down at the pot and the milk, which was seeping into the cracks between the tiles. "Damn." Jennifer muttered and sighed. She blew the fire out of the oven and then gingerly walked over to the cabinet where Evelyn kept all the dishrags.   
  
Upstairs, Evelyn and Rick were jolted from their sleep by a loud crash from downstairs. Still a little jumpy over the recent events with Anubis, they both climbed out of bed, going to investigate the noise downstairs.   
  
Jennifer wasn't aware that her sister and brother-in-law had heard the noise of the pan so she wasn't aware that they were silently coming down the stairs.   
Jennifer wiped up the milk and threw the soiled rag into the sink to wash later. Jennifer picked up the pan and placed it in the sink as well. She turned around, knowing that sleep was out of the question, to find Cleo to play with. However, as soon as Jennifer turned around, Cleo leapt off the table and ran into the sitting room.   
"Cleo." Jennifer whispered as she headed after the fickle cat.   
  
Rick and Evelyn saw Cleo leapt into the sitting room and onto the table. At first, Rick thought that maybe the cat had knocked down one of the vases or whatnot. However, when he saw a figure -hidden by the shadows- enter the sitting room as well.   
Evelyn immediately recognized the figure as her sister and placed her hand on Rick's shoulder to reassure him that everything was all right. Rick stepped off the stairs and headed over to Jennifer to ask the girl what she was doing up at such an early hour.   
Jennifer was still unaware of Evelyn or Rick's presences; she stooped slightly to retrieve the cat off the table, where it was not allowed to be either.   
Jennifer gathered Cleo in her arms, holding the warm cat close to her. Cleo began to purr and rub her face against Jennifer's chin.   
Jennifer turned around and ran right into Rick; Jennifer screamed bloody-murder as she ran into the man. Cleo leapt from her arms and ran under the table.   
Evelyn immediately switched on a light and ran to her husband and sister; once the light was own, Jennifer sucked in a breath and looked to see who had surprised her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was only Rick; Jennifer felt like her heart was jumping into her throat as she regained her composer. Instantly, Jennifer felt ashamed with herself for screaming like that; if it weren't for those nightmares she wouldn't have been so skittish and quick to scare.   
Within minutes, Alex was also downstairs having been awakened by Jennifer's scream. Everyone was seated on the couch; Rick and Evelyn were questioning Jennifer about her late night/early morning outings. Jennifer just shrugged at all their questions.   
"Why were you up so early?" Rick asked, looking at his sister-in-law.   
Jennifer shrugged. "I'm an insomniac, remember?" Jennifer answered; referring to the lie she had told Rick to cover up her late night garden-conversation with Anubis nearly a month ago.   
Once everything had settled down, everyone headed back upstairs. Jennifer cradled Cleo in her arms, not wanting to be alone for the reminder of the night.   
After bidding her family goodnight, Jennifer entered her large room again; she dropped Cleo to the floor and shut the door behind her. Both Cleo and Jennifer climbed onto the large bed; Jennifer crawled under the covers and Cleo nestled herself on Jennifer's lap.   
Jennifer wasn't in her room more then twenty minutes when there was a soft knock on the door. Cleo meowed as Jennifer climbed out of bed to see who was knocking. It was Alex, clutching his stuffed bear Paddy and looking up at her with sleep-filled eyes.   
"I can't sleep Jennifer." The boy said. Jennifer let Alex into her room and shut the door behind them. Alex climbed into Jennifer's bed and snuggled under the covers; Cleo crawled over to Alex and lay down beside him.   
Jennifer lay down in bed beside her nephew, this time she didn't get under the covers. Alex laid his head on Jennifer's shoulder and held Paddy tightly in his arms.   
Within a few minutes the boy was asleep, his breathing slow and rhythmic with sleep. Jennifer closed her eyes and until the sun began to rise in the London sky, feigned sleep.   
  
  



	2. Letter From Paris

  
Chapter Two   
Letter from Paris   
  
  
  
The next day, Jennifer was awake before anyone else in the house. By the time Rick, Evelyn and Alex came downstairs, Jennifer had breakfast waiting for them.   
That day promised to be a clear one, a rare sunny day in London and Alex was full of plans. He wanted to go to the park, play chess with his mother, play with his trucks with Jennifer and go exploring in the woods with his father. Alex wanted to go to the park with all his family; Jennifer agreed that it would be a good idea because Horus -her falcon- needed to stretch his wings after the string of rainy days. After all the dishes were cleaned up from breakfast, the O'Connells and Jennifer got ready to go to the park.   
Alex packed his rucksack full of things: trucks, shovels and his slingshot. Jennifer readied her bird for the trip while Rick and Evelyn packed picnic lunch for them.   
As Rick stood beside his wife making a sandwich he said, "Did you know your sister was an insomniac?"   
Surprised at his question, Evelyn looked up at him. "I haven't seen my sister in nineteen years, there's a lot of things I don't know about her." She replied.   
Rick shook his head. "Well, that's not exactly what I meant. I mean does your family have a history of insomniacs?" Rick asked.   
Evelyn shrugged and they finished making lunch in silence.   
  
Alex, Rick, Evelyn and Jennifer spent nearly the whole day in the park. They would have spent the whole day there if it hadn't started raining. Everyone had a nice time, enjoying the cool breeze and the warm sun.   
When they arrived back home, rain soaked and somewhat exhausted from their trip to the park, Jennifer picked up the mail that Marie had left on the table for them. Jennifer never knew why she picked up the mail, since there was never anything for her but it was somewhat of a strange habit.   
Jennifer thumbed through the letters; she noticed one was addressed to Alex. In large, childlike handwriting were the words "Alex O'Connell" and their address and in the upper left-hand corner were the words "Megan Richardson" and listened an address in Paris. Jennifer set the other letters on the table and walked into the sitting room, still holding the letter for Alex.   
"Alex, you got a letter." Jennifer said and waved the manila envelope in the air for the O'Connells to see.   
Alex immediately ran over to his aunt and took the letter from her. Evelyn looked over at her son. "Who's it from?" She asked, hanging up her son's wet raincoat.   
"It's from Megan!" Alex cried happily and tore the letter open.   
Jennifer looked at her sister. "Who's Megan?" Jennifer asked as she watched Alex pull the letter out of the envelope and let the envelope flutter to the ground.   
"Alex's best friend, she moved to Paris around two years ago. Maybe a little less then that, but that seems about right." Evelyn answered.   
Both Jennifer and Evelyn focused their gazes on Alex, whose eyes were darting across the sentences of the letter.   
With a yell of excitement, Alex dropped the letter and began jumping up and down. Horus began to screech and flap his wings at Alex's spontaneous behavior.   
"What did Megan's letter say?" Evelyn asked, trying to calm her son down.   
"Her dad has to go to the States on visit so she's coming to visit here. Can she stay Mum? Can she, please?" Alex calmed down and began pleading with his mother.   
Jennifer picked the letter up off the floor and read it over. "It says that if she can stay then to call before 5, Monday. That's today." Jennifer said, wanting to meet this friend of Alex's.   
Alex looked at his mother with pleading eyes. "Please." He said and smiled his innocent smile that neither of his parents could resist. Especially his mother, who was rather found of Megan; Evelyn agreed to Megan staying over.   
Alex began to jump up and down again and do cartwheels across the sitting room. Jennifer laughed at her nephew's antics and managed to get him calmed down while Evelyn called the Richardson's Paris residence to say that Megan was more then welcome to stay.   
As his mother was on the phone talking to Mr. Richardson, Alex danced around her. "When is Megan coming? How long is she staying?" Alex asked, repeating his questions.   
Jennifer managed to pull Alex away from his mother and got him to wait in the sitting room. "The more you ask questions, the longer she'll be on the phone. So, you'd better be patient." Jennifer said as she dragged Alex away from Evelyn.   
Alex sat still next to Jennifer on the couch as they both waited for Evelyn to return from the parlor, where she was making the phone call.   
After what seemed like forever, to Alex, Evelyn returned and gave the two the details of Megan's arrival. "She's coming the day after tomorrow, she's coming by train. Jennifer, I have to work Wednesday so would you please meet her at the train station?" Evelyn asked her sister.   
Jennifer nodded. "No problem, I'll take Alex too." Jennifer answered.   
Evelyn smiled and sent Alex upstairs to clean his room for Megan's arrival on Wednesday, though she was sure that Alex's room would be dirty by suppertime.   
Evelyn sighed and sat down on the couch next to her sister. They sat in silence until Evelyn let out a gasp. It was the sort of gasp that you let out when you realize that you forgot something really important.   
"What's wrong?" Jennifer asked quickly, looking over at Evelyn.   
"I just remembered that the museum is throwing a huge dinner party on Wednesday. They've been planning months in advance, Rick and I have already agreed to go. What am I going to do about Megan and Alex…." Evelyn sighed, her eyebrows knotting in worry.   
Jennifer sighed, the sort of sigh that one let's out as if to say 'it's all?' "Don't worry, I'll watch Megan and Alex while you're away." Jennifer said, looking at her sister.   
Evelyn smiled and embraced Jennifer. "Are you sure you won't mind?" Evelyn asked.   
"No problem. How hard can it be?" Jennifer said.   
  



	3. Megan's Arrival

Chapter Three   
Megan's Arrival   
  
  
  
For Jennifer, Rick and Evelyn Tuesday passed by quickly but for Alex it seemed to drag on forever. When Wednesday finally came, the boy was as hyper as a cocker spaniel with too much sugar.   
Jennifer was tried; suffering from the second day in a row without sleep. Once again she was the first person awake and had breakfast waiting for the rest of the O'Connell house-hold, including Jonathan who had come to spend time with his sisters. However, Jennifer was sure she wasn't going to be seeing too much of him since he would so find some pretty woman or a new casino that would take up his time.   
After all the dishes were put away, Evelyn and Rick both had to go off to work. Evelyn to the museum and Rick to meet a potential buyer for some of the recently discovered 'treasure' from Egypt. Both Rick and Evelyn let together; as soon as they were outside Evelyn turned to her husband.   
"I'm worried about Jennifer. Doesn't it seem like she hasn't been getting any sleep?" Evelyn asked as she slipped the hood of her raincoat over her head.   
Rick shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm sure it's just a 'faze'. It'll pass and she'll be fine." Rick said, not wanting his wife to worry. Before parting, they shared a passionate good-bye kiss.   
  
Back inside the O'Connell manor, Alex was bothering his aunt non-stop. "When are we going?" He repeated over and over, tugging at her shirt and running circles around her.   
Jennifer sighed and looked down at her nephew. "Get ready and then we'll go, you mum told me that the train is due at noon so we have some time to kill but…" Jennifer began but her words fell on deaf ears because Alex was already upstairs, putting on his clothes.   
Jennifer got the umbrella and her raincoat and Alex's raincoat and waited downstairs in the sitting room for him to reappear. Horus was perched on her shoulder, eager to go outside -even if it was pouring down rain.   
Alex bolted down the stairs and ran into the sitting room. "I'm ready, see." Alex said and showed Jennifer is outfit. Jennifer nodded and tossed Alex his raincoat. "Put that on and we can go." Jennifer said as she slipped her own raincoat on.  
"Do I have to wear the hood?" Alex asked, the hood of his raincoat clutched in his hand. Alex hated wearing the hood to his coat because it made his forehead itch and it almost covered his eyes.   
Jennifer shrugged. "No, we have an umbrella but if you get wet you have to wear it." Jennifer said.   
Alex clapped his hands and let the hood fall onto his back. "Ready!" He cried and headed toward the door.  
Jennifer followed her nephew and opened the umbrella as they stepped outside. Jennifer, Alex and Horus stepped out from under the underhand and into the rain. The rain made echoing, dull sounding noises as they hit the umbrella, as if they were angry that they wouldn't be able to soak those under the umbrella.   
The walk to the bus stop seemed to take longer than usual because Jennifer had to keep reprimanding Alex about splashing in puddles. However, by the time they arrived at the bus stop both of them were soaked and Jennifer had left the umbrella hidden in a bush because it was no use any more.   
As Alex splashed in puddles and ran up and down the sidewalk, Jennifer shivered, seeking the semi-sheltering tree branches that grew around the bus stop. Soon, the bus came and Jennifer and Alex -as well as Horus- climbed aboard, Jennifer paid the fares while Alex picked their seats.   
Alex chose seats in the back because he liked to stare out the big windows. Jennifer joined her nephew as the bus started the move; Jennifer sat down and felt the vibrating rhythm of the moving bus. It reminded her of the vibrating of the train, the train they were on when they had been captured by Anubis.   
The ride to the train station was long, longer then the ride to museum which both Jennifer and Alex were used to taking. The train station lay outside of the main part of London city; the station was nestled in the pastoral setting of large pine trees and clear streams. However, most of the beauty was over shadowed by the road paved through it; the road was heavily traveled because of the train station. By the time the bus neared the train station, Alex was half-asleep with his head rested against Jennifer's wet shoulder. Alex's hair was plastered to the side of his head and Jennifer was sure she didn't look much better; Jennifer could feel her thick hair matted against the back of her head and itching her neck.   
As the bus pulled up to the "train station bus stop", Jennifer shook her nephew awake. "Alex, we're here." She whispered and brushed a lock of wet hair off his forehead.   
Alex slowly opened his eyes and then sat up, realizing what his aunt had said. "Yay! Megan!" He yelled and jumped up, running down the aisle of the bus.   
Jennifer, Alex and Horus left the bus and watched it disappear in the distance before running into the station to get out of the rain. Despite the foul weather, the train station was as busy as it always was. People pushed past each other, not even caring whom the passed: just another face in the crowd. Businessmen and women carried real leather or imitation leather briefcases as they filed out of trains or into them. Alex looked around the station in awe; Jennifer was sure the boy had never been in a train station before, but she wasn't sure. Jennifer had never been found of trains or train stations; they reminded her of things in her life that she didn't want to be reminded of. Like when she was nine and she discovered she was adopted and had run away from home. She had taken a train and had gotten to the coast of Georgia before someone cared enough to come and retrieve her.   
Jennifer and Alex looked around the station for some sort of a map or someone who could tell them exactly when Megan's train was due. Finally, Jennifer was able to discover that Megan's train wasn't due for another hour.   
Alex and Jennifer sat down on one of the benches, out of the way of all the hurried passersby. Alex sighed and then turned to face Jennifer. "I'm hungry. Is it almost lunch time?" The boy asked.   
Jennifer looked up at the station's clock and shook her head. "No, it's only ten o'clock. When Megan gets here, then we'll all eat something together okay." Jennifer said.   
Alex nodded and asked if he could hold Horus. Horus climbed onto his outstretched hand and flapped his wings.   
For an hour, Jennifer and Alex managed to keep themselves entertained as they waited for Megan's train to arrive. When it was finally time and the train arrived, Alex leapt off the hard bench and ran toward the coming train.   
"Alexander O'Connell, stop right there!" Jennifer called as she stood up and followed her nephew.   
Alex stopped and turned around to wait for Jennifer. The train slid to a complete stop and the stewardesses opened the train doors for the passengers to exit the train.   
"Where's Megan? Do you see her?" Alex asked as he jumped up and down to try and see above the crowd of people.   
"Alex, I don't even know what Megan looks like." Jennifer muttered, calming the boy down.   
"What if she missed the train, or got on the wrong one or something?" Alex asked, turning to his aunt.   
"I'm sure Megan didn't get on the wrong train." Jennifer said, reassuring her nephew to some point.   
"There! I see her!" Alex cried and began pointing.   
Jennifer followed Alex's gesturers to see a girl, just a little taller then Alex -because of the age difference- standing in a blue pastoral dress that fell past her ankles. Her blonde hair was curled and tucked under a bonnet that matched her dress. In her hand was a new looking leather suitcase with a tag that gave her name and address.   
Alex ran ahead of Jennifer and over to his friend. They yelled each other's names before embracing quickly and then pulling away, embarrassed as younger kids get.   
Jennifer joined her nephew and was quickly introduced to Megan. Megan shook Jennifer's hand and greeted her in French, to show Alex that she could speak French as well as English.   
Jennifer picked up Megan's bag. "Is this the only bag you have?" She asked, motioning to the bag with her other hand.   
Megan nodded. "Yep, that's it." Megan answered.   
The three of them -including Horus- exited the train station; Megan and Alex hadn't stopped talking to each other since they had started walking toward the exit. Megan was telling Alex all about life in Paris, and Alex listened to everything with eager ears.   
When they reached the exit of the station, Jennifer saw -to her disgust- that it was still raining. "Megan, do you have a raincoat?" Jennifer asked. At the same time Jennifer pulled the hood of Alex's raincoat over his head; Alex groaned but didn't argue back.   
Megan shook her head. "I didn't think I would need one, boy do I feel stupid." Megan said, wrinkling her face in displeasure.   
"That's all right, you can use mine." Jennifer said and took her raincoat off and handed it to Megan.   
Megan said 'thank you' and put Jennifer's raincoat on. Then, the three of them -including Horus- exited the station and headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus.   



	4. Adventures in Babysitting

  
Chapter Four   
Adventures in Babysitting   
  
  
During the bus ride home, Megan and Alex talked about what they wanted to do during Megan's visit. They also talked about the adventures they had had when they were younger, leaving out the bad things of course.   
When they arrived back in the city of London, Jennifer, Megan and Alex exited the bus and began the walk back to the O'Connell manor. "Do you think my mum or dad are home?" Alex asked Jennifer as they walked.   
"I don't know, maybe. Did I tell you, Alex, that I'm going to baby-sit you and Megan tonight?" Jennifer asked, making sure that the news wasn't sudden.   
"My mum told me, is that all right Megan?" Alex said, peering over at his friend.   
"Sure." Megan said, already deciding that Jennifer was cool. She wouldn't mind spending a night with just Jennifer and Alex, it would be fun. Alex had the coolest relatives, in Megan's eyes.   
When they arrived home, the house was silent; no one was home. Jennifer sighed and placed Megan's bag by the door while she rung out her soaking hair. Alex and Megan ran toward the stairs but Jennifer stopped them. "First take off those wet raincoats, and hang them up. Second, are you two hungry? Alex, you said you were." Jennifer said.   
Megan and Alex looked at each other and then nodded, returning to stand in front of Jennifer. "Okay, let's make lunch then." Jennifer said. While Megan and Alex were hanging up their raincoats, Jennifer walked into the kitchen. Lying on the counter was a note, written in the neat handwriting of her sister.   
"Dear Jenni,   
Had to work later then I thought so I won't be home today and neither will Rick. I hope you had no trouble getting Megan and I hope she and Alex are behaving. Rick and I will head straight to the party after I can get off work, so we won't be home until later tonight. Sorry for the late notice, thanks again.   
Love, Evelyn"   
Jennifer read the note over, smiling slightly at Evelyn calling her "Jenni" instead of Jennifer. Her sister was the only person she had ever known that spelled "Jenny" with an I instead of with a "Y" or an "IE". Jennifer threw the note away, not minding that she would have to watch Alex and Megan all day and all night.   
Alex and Megan ran into the kitchen; they listened while Jennifer told them about Evelyn and Rick not being home all day. Neither of them seemed to mind much and immediately began telling Jennifer the things they wanted for breakfast.   
Jennifer listened to the list of things they shouted out to her; ice cream, cake and candy were a few of the things they mentioned. Jennifer frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so, your parents would not appreciate it if you got sick on cake and such that I let you eat. How about sandwiches?" Jennifer suggested.   
Megan and Alex seemed satisfied with Jennifer's suggestion of lunch. They sat at the table, talking about what they wanted to do after lunch.   
"We could play with my trucks." Alex suggested.   
Megan frowned. "Boring, we should do something really special." Megan said.   
However, neither of them knew exactly what that "something special" might be. When Jennifer finished making their sandwiches and served them, they asked her if she knew anything interesting to do.   
Jennifer shrugged. "I don't know, you guys could play in the tree house or walking in the woods." Jennifer suggested, as she began to eat her own sandwich.   
"Let's walk in the woods. It's almost stopped raining." Megan said, taking a bite of her sandwich.   
"Okay!" Alex yelled, happy to already doing the things that he would have done with Megan, if she hadn't moved.   
The two quickly finished their lunches and rushed outside, leaving Jennifer alone in the big O'Connell manor. Jennifer had never been really alone in the manor before, and now that she was she wasn't sure she liked it very much. The manor was absolutely quiet; Jennifer could only hear her own breathing and the breathing of Horus, who was perched on her shoulder.   
Jennifer bit her lip as she gathered the plates and carried them over to the sink; the clanging of glass upon glass seemed like gunshots through the manor. Jennifer slowly turned on the water and began washing the dishes, deciding to hum to herself to get rid of some of the quiet.   
  
Outside, Megan and Alex had disappeared into the woods; they had begun playing a game of Peter Pan. Megan wanted to be Peter. "I saw this play, in Paris, and Peter was played by a girl. I wanna be Peter." Megan said, picking up a stick to use as a sword.   
Alex shrugged and agreed, he liked being Captain Hook better any way. He found his own stick to use as a sword and he and Megan began to "sword-fight", moving deeper into the woods.   
Megan knocked Alex's stick out of his hands and ran toward a large oak tree. She began to climb the tree, pretending that she was Peter Pan, flying above Captain Hook. Alex watched his friend climb the tree, he no longer liked climbing tress -as much as he used to- since he was five or six.   
"Megan, come back down." Alex pleaded, watching his friend disappear among the leafy branches.   
"Come on Alex, don't be a sissy." Megan said and peered down at Alex.   
Alex frowned and began climbing the tree; no one called Alex O'Connell a sissy, especially a girl. Alex and Megan began to climb higher in the tree. When they were about half way up, Megan perched herself on one of the large branches.   
Alex sat beside her, looking down at their feet dangling over the edge of the branch. Megan and Alex sat silently on the branch, staring out into the woods, thinking -which rarely happened for two rowdy kids like themselves.   
"Maybe, we can go back home and Jennifer will take us to the park because it stopped raining." Alex said, breaking the serene silence.   
"I don't wanna go to the boring ol' park. I wanna do something fun." Megan said, swinging her feet.   
"The park isn't boring. Hey, I bet if we ask Jennifer, she'll play Peter Pan with us and she'll be Tiger Lilly or Windy." Alex said, feeling uneasy in the tree.   
"Maybe." Megan muttered, still staring ahead of her.   
  
Back at the O'Connell manor, Jennifer finished washing the dishes and was now playing a game of chess against herself; Jennifer was also trying to teach Horus how to play.   
Jennifer moved one of Horus pieces to take one of hers. "Okay Horus, take my piece and put it there." Jennifer said and pointed to the side of the table. Horus screeched and grabbed Jennifer's piece in his talon; instead of placing the piece where Jennifer told him too, he flew off with it. "Horus!" Jennifer cried, standing up and starting to chase after the bird.   
Horus disappeared into the parlor and Jennifer sighed, letting the bird go with the chess piece. As Jennifer headed back into the sitting room, she realized that she couldn't hear Megan and Alex. She hadn't been able to hear them since they left, she realized; this thought made her very uneasy.   
Jennifer headed to the back door and opened it, stepping on to the patio and listening as heard as she could for sounds of playing children. She couldn't hear the familiar voice of her nephew or the tough voice of Megan. Jennifer started walking toward the woods, where she was sure Megan and Alex were.   
  
Alex was getting bored sitting on the tree branch and wanted to do something else. He wanted to play Peter Pan with Jennifer; she always was a good playmate. Megan didn't want to do any of the things they used to do, before she moved; Megan wasn't any fun any more. "I'm going back down now." Alex informed his friend and shifted his weight.   
As soon as Alex moved, the tree branch began to creak. "What's that noise?" Megan asked, uneasily and the groaning and creaking noises continued.   
However, Megan's question was useless because they both already knew what that sound was. The tree branch was going to break under their weight; the branch was fine when they weren't moving but now that they were, the branch couldn't hold their weight.   
"The branch is going to break." Alex said, staring at Megan.   
"Hurry and get off! Hurry!" Megan commanded, giving Alex a shove.   
Alex nearly fell off the branch with Megan's shove; he clutched the branch with both his hands, not wanting to fall.   
"Move Alex!" Megan shouted. Alex began to yell back at her; both of them were too confused and scared to do much else then yell.   
  
As Jennifer walked deeper into the woods, the sounds of Alex and Megan's yelling reached her ears. Their shout seemed somewhat panicked and confused; Jennifer felt a chill run down her spine. She ran toward their yelling, afraid because she didn't know what was wrong with them.   
When Jennifer reached them, she saw they were in a tree. Alex looked down at her; he was hanging on tightly to the tree branch. "Jennifer!" He cried, "The branch is going to break."   
Jennifer looked up at the branch and already saw it begin to splinter, the branch dipping lower then it had two seconds ago. Jennifer immediately felt a rush of paralyzing fear; Evelyn and Rick would know what do, but she didn't and that was the problem.  
Jennifer bit her lip and didn't know what to do, what to say to Megan and Alex. Before she had much of a chance to say anything, the branch broke with a snap. Jennifer did the only thing she knew to do and moved under them, as if to catch them; she knew too well, however, that she could not catch both of them. However, Alex and Megan fell right on top of Jennifer, bringing all three of them crashing to the ground.   
Jennifer had the wind knocked out of her as Alex and Megan landed right on top of her. For about a minute, Jennifer lay, dazed and winded.   
Alex looked down at his aunt and smiled at her. "Nice catch Aunt Jennifer." He said.   
Alex and Megan crawled off Jennifer, letting her get up and catch her breath. Jennifer looked down at them and frowned. "What were you guys doing climbing that tree anyway?" Jennifer asked, taking a deep breath and letting it fill her lungs.   
"Playing Peter Pan." Megan asked, looking down at her feet. Megan was worried Jennifer would get mad at her and she would have to go home and stay with her stepmother and have no fun.   
Jennifer looked from Megan to Alex and then sighed. "Well next time you play Peter Pan, give me a warning okay?" Jennifer said, smiling at them.  
Megan and Alex were surprised that Jennifer wasn't mad at them, at all. Alex smiled and hugged his aunt.   
"All right, let's go back to the house now, before we knock the whole forest down." Jennifer joked.  
All three of them headed back to the O'Connell manor, already planning what to do next.   
  
  



	5. Conflicts

Chapter Five   
Conflicts   
  
  
  
After arriving back at the manor, Jennifer had Megan and Alex help her look for Horus and the missing chess piece -as "punishment". Jennifer discovered Horus hiding in the manor's large and somewhat daunting attic. Jennifer frowned as she pulled the stairs down from the ceiling, listening to them groan as they unfolded in front of her. Alex and Megan joined Jennifer's side, looking upward into the dark attic.   
"My mum and dad never go up there." Alex muttered. Despite the new appearing sun, the attic was filled with darkness and shadows around every corner.   
Jennifer bit her lip. "I have no clue how Horus could have gotten up there." Jennifer muttered, speaking the last word with some apparent distaste.   
"There might be a hole in the ceiling somewhere." Megan offered.   
"Maybe." Jennifer muttered; whether there was a hole or not, Jennifer didn't want to retrieve her bird in the dark attic.   
"Maybe you can whistle for him." Alex suggested, seeming to sense his aunt's fear of the dark and daunting attic.   
Jennifer nodded and whistled; luckily for her, Horus flew down toward her. However, the chess piece was not with the bird, but Jennifer wasn't too concerned about that at the moment.   
After putting folding the stairs back into place, Jennifer, Megan and Alex hurried away from underneath the attic stairs. They headed into the kitchen, where a seemingly irritated Cleo greeted them. Cleo meowed and hissed as she rubbed against Jennifer's legs, strange behavior for the usually placid cat.   
"What's wrong Cleo?" Alex asked as he bent down to pick up the cat. Cleo hissed and darted out of the kitchen; Jennifer frowned as she watched the cat bound away.   
Once Cleo was gone, the three paid the cat's strange behavior no more attention. Alex and Megan complained of hunger pains so Jennifer fixed everyone -even Horus- a bowl of ice cream.   
No one talked while they ate, all seeming to be thinking different thoughts. Once Alex and Megan were finished with their ice cream, they bounded up the stairs to Alex's room to play a new game.   
Once Jennifer heard the shutting of Alex's door, she began to feel uneasy again. A spider-like chill creeped up her spine as her the sounds of silence once again filled her ears. Jennifer couldn't shake her uneasy feeling, a feeling that hadn't just come to her; a feeling that had been with her around half a month ago. She knew these feelings were caused by her nightmares, the nightmares that made her skittish and caused her not to sleep. At the thought of no sleep made Jennifer's eyes hurt and her eyelids to become somewhat heavy; Jennifer frowned as she rubbed her eyes, blinking back sleep.   
To keep herself busy and awake, Jennifer began to wash the dishes that had held the ice cream. Once those dishes were done and put away, Jennifer began doing other anomalous tasks around the kitchen; she refilled the water in the flower vases, rearranged the dishes in the cupboards, organized the food in the pantries and wiped the counters down with a wet dishtowel.   
Once Jennifer was finished with the kitchen she moved into the sitting room, doing more atypical tasks; she polished the chess pieces (except the missing one) and arranged them on the board, she polished all the lamps and turned them all on -to keep her awake and to shut the darkness out-, arranged the pillows on the couch and fluffed them up. She moved into the parlor and polished the desks and bookshelves. Once she was done with all the odd tasks that could possibly be done, she selected a book from the shelf and returned to the sitting room. Jennifer sat down on the couch and opened her book; she leaned back against the back of the couch and began reading.   
However, within five minutes sleep over took the exhausted Jennifer and she slipped into a deep sleep, despite her mental protests.   
  
Upstairs, Alex and Megan had run out of games to play in Alex's room.   
"I don't want to stay inside anymore, Alex, I wanna do something." Megan groaned as she pushed one of Alex's trucks the length of his room.   
Alex's eyes followed the truck across the room before looking up at Megan, who was perched on the edge of his bed. "Maybe Jennifer will take us to the park." Alex suggested, wanting to go to the park and see Horus fly. He also wanted to play tag with Megan and Jennifer and maybe they would see some of his other friends at the park.   
"All right, let's ask her." Megan said and jumped off Alex's bed and walked toward the door. Alex jumped up and joined his friend at the door and they headed down the hall and toward the stairs.   
They creeped down the stairs and entered the sitting room, where they saw Jennifer asleep on the couch.   
"She's asleep." Megan muttered, stating the obvious.   
"I know that; she hasn't gotten much sleep for a while, she must be really tired." Alex muttered, understanding what it felt like to go sleepless for long periods of time.   
"Why not? Why hasn't she been sleeping?" Megan asked, frowning.   
Alex shrugged. "I dunno." He answered, looking from his friend to his aunt.   
"She seems kinda weird to me; grownups aren't supposed to just fall asleep like that. That's weird." Megan said.   
Alex turned toward his friend. "Jennifer is not weird. Take it back. She is not weird." Alex said, sticking up for his aunt.   
"Make me." Megan dared, hating it when anyone told her what to do, especially her best friend.   
Alex was infuriated by Megan's behavior; she had no right to call his aunt weird. "Take it back." Alex commanded and gave Megan a push. It was easy for the two old friends to fall back into their normal style of brawls and fights, it was almost normal yet childish.   
Megan pushed Alex back, a little harder then he had pushed her; Alex glowered at his friend and shoved her, harder then before. Quickly, Megan and Alex had engaged in a un-friend like fight of pushing and yelling.   
Once Megan and Alex started yelling at each other, Jennifer was brought for her sleep. Not a moment too soon, either, because she was in the middle of another nightmare.   
Jennifer awoke with a start, her heart beating; she was greeted by the sight and sound of the two quarreling children left in her care. Jennifer sat up and stood up, walking over toward Alex and Megan just as Alex gave Megan a semi-hard punch on the arm.   
"Alexander O'Connell, we do not hit." Jennifer snapped, as though Alex was still a toddler.   
Alex and Megan were so surprised by Jennifer's appearance that they stared at her, dumbfounded, for several seconds before they began shouting at her the reasons for their fight.   
The only words Jennifer was able to pick out of the yelling were yelled by Megan, but they were spoken to Alex. "I hate you!" Megan yelled at Alex, the words sounding harsh and as though she meant them.   
"I hate you too!" Alex yelled back, the words sounding just as harsh and meaningful as Megan's had.   
"Okay! Okay, everyone calm down," Jennifer tried to put an end to Megan and Alex's fight but it just seemed to get worse.   
"All right! SHUT UP!" Jennifer screamed, her voice rising above Megan and Alex's.   
They turned to face her, growing silent. Jennifer stared down at them, her face angry.   
"What's going on here?" She asked, aware that it was a fight but still unaware of what had caused the fight.   
Neither Megan nor Alex seemed to have an answer for Jennifer. "You guys apologize to each other, right now." Jennifer commanded.   
"No! I hate her!" Alex yelled.   
"I hate you too!" Megan yelled back.   
"Enough. Alex up to your room, now. Megan into the parlor; let's go, both of you." Jennifer commanded.   
Both of them marched to their punishment spots without another word or a backward glace. Jennifer knew that babysitting these two wasn't going to be as easy as it had seemed before.   



	6. Strange Happenings

Chapter Six   
Strange Happenings   
  
  
Once Alex was in his room and Megan was in the parlor, Jennifer sat back down on the couch to decide what to do next. However, Jennifer was at a total loss; she had never punished anyone before and she wasn't sure she wanted too. However, Alex had hit Megan and they had gotten in a fight and Jennifer knew that Evy and Rick would punish their son. However, Alex wasn't her son; maybe she should just wait until Rick and Evy got back.   
Jennifer stood up and whistled for Horus before headed upstairs to determine the cause of the fight, by asking Alex. However, Jennifer didn't get very far before she was aware of a strange noise. It was like a rapping noise, coming from above her. Jennifer looked up, listening for the noise again.   
It sounded again, a short rapping sound or the sound of something being dragged then dropped. Jennifer bit her lip as she listened to the sound continue; what could be making the sound? It was coming from above her, could Alex be making the noises? There was only one way to find out; Jennifer took the rest of the stairs in twos and hurried to Alex's room.   
She opened the door to find Alex sitting on his bed, scowling and clutching Paddy. He looked up at Jennifer, somewhat surprised by her hasty entrance.   
"What's the matter Jennifer?" He asked her, seeing her somewhat pallid face.   
Jennifer frowned. "You didn't hear it?" Jennifer asked, having somewhat determined that Alex was not making the noises.   
"Hear what? I didn't hear anything." Alex said, getting off his bed and walking over to Jennifer.   
Jennifer frowned and together she and Alex walked out of his room; Jennifer led Alex over to the stairs, where she heard the noise. For a few minutes, they could hear nothing and then the noise sounded again. The rapping, dragging noise; Alex's face went pale with fright and Jennifer was sure her face was close to the ghostly white color that Alex's face was. Alex held Jennifer's hand in his, clutching Paddy close to him.   
"What is it, Jennifer?" He whispered. The sound was continuing, however a new sound had joined in. The "new" sound sounded like claws dragging against the ground. Rapping. Thudding. Scraping. Those were the sounds that Jennifer and Alex heard.   
Alex moved closer to Jennifer. "It's a mummy, I know it!" Alex cried, still retaining his fears of everything back from the dead.   
Until Alex spoke those words, Jennifer hadn't even suspected anything of the supernatural or undead sort; however, now Jennifer was being to think that it might be a mummy or even Anubis. If he could come back from the dead once, what was stopping him from coming back a second time.   
"Calm down Alex, it's probably nothing." Jennifer said, her voice was shaking and very unreassuringly.   
Jennifer and Alex walked slowly down the stairs, the perpetual noises never leaving their ears, even when they were downstairs in the sitting room.   
Alex looked up at Jennifer. "What about Megan?" He asked, seeming somewhat worried about his friend, who was still in the parlor.   
"Let's go get her." Jennifer suggested and they walked down the hall and to the parlor, the noises still following them. The noises were loudest in the hall; Jennifer and Alex entered the parlor.   
Megan was sitting next to one of the bookshelves, her face as pale as Alex's. "That noise?" She asked, as Jennifer and Alex entered, "What is it?"   
"We don't know." Jennifer muttered as Megan ran over to join her and Alex.   
"Where's it coming from?" Megan asked as they left the parlor. The sounds were louder and more eerie when a bat like screech became a part of the sounds. The rapping were louder now, louder then the other sounds; the screeches only came every so often but when they did they sent a shiver down Jennifer's spine. The screeching sounded like noises Horus would make but Horus was still perched on Jennifer's shoulder; the falcon was still as though he was somewhat frightened by the noises as well.   
Jennifer, Alex and Megan were trying to find the place where the sounds were the loudest, that would be where the noises originated. Finally, they stopped under the stairs which lead to the attic; the sounds were loudest there. The sounds were coming from the attic.   
  



	7. The Attic

Chapter Seven   
The Attic  
  
  
  
Jennifer, Alex and Megan all simultaneously looked up at the stairs that pulled down to the attic.   
"The sounds are….they're coming from the attic." Jennifer muttered. "We have to figure out what's making the sounds." She added, though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know.   
"Do we have to? Can't we just get my mum and dad?" Alex whined, clutching Jennifer's hand until his knuckles were white and Jennifer couldn't feel her hand.   
"Yes. You guys can wait down here and I'll find out." Jennifer said.   
"Jennifer, don't leave us." Megan pleaded, she also clutched Jennifer's hand.   
"If we don't know then we'll be afraid all night. I'm going to find out." Jennifer said, trying to sound brave but failing somewhat miserably. She also didn't want to involve Evy and Rick into the matter, for her own reasons; she didn't want them to think that she was unable to watch her own nephew for a few hours.   
Jennifer instructed Megan and Alex to wait in the sitting room while she investigated the attic. They did so, seating themselves on the couch, close to each other as though it would provide some sense of safety without Jennifer. In a sense, it did, for them anyway.   
After leaving Horus with Alex and Megan, Jennifer headed back under the attic. Jennifer was slightly aware that her hands were somewhat shaking as she reached upward to grasp the cord that would pull that stairs down. She felt the cord in her hand and wrapped her slender fingers around it, pulling down.   
The stairs slid down with a low groan, sending more chills down Jennifer's spine. The darkness that engulfed the attic was thicker and more ominous then it had been before. Jennifer pulled the stairs down to her feet; she began to climb the stairs as she would normal stairs but her feet felt heaver and she felt the cold stab of dread in her empty feeling stomach.  
Jennifer peered into the attic, her vision was rather poor do to the poor light; she squinted her eyes as though that would help her see better. Jennifer slowly and gingerly entered the attic, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. There was only one window in the attic put it was covered thickly with curtains made from dark and thick material. Jennifer carefully navigated her way toward the curtains, hoping to bring some light into the room. She pulled the curtains aside; as soon as she pulled the curtains, a nest of bats took flight from their safe nesting place behind the curtains. Jennifer let out a short scream as the bats brushed against her face and body.   
However, Jennifer's cry was drowned out by a crash of thunder that shook the whole house. Lightening streaked across the sky, lighting the room for a short period of time, giving Jennifer a perfect look at her attic surroundings.   
  



	8. Tempest Endeavors

Chapter Eight   
Tempest Endeavors  
  
  
  
Downstairs, Megan and Alex barely heard Jennifer scream before the crash of thunder drowned out her cry. Alex and Megan looked at each other with nervous, frightened expressions on their faces as the bolt of lightening streaked across the sky.   
The lightening cast an eerie pale-yellow light across the sitting room and across the faces of the frightened Megan and Alex.   
"I hope Jennifer's all right." Megan whispered, not stopping to wonder why her voice was so soft.   
Alex opened his mouth to reply but his words were lost in another clap of thunder. Another bolt of lightening streaked across the sky; there was a loud crashing sound followed by a popping sound, which echoed, to a hissing sound. Within seconds after the lightening, the lights in the sitting room died, plunging everything into darkness.  
The lightening had knocked the power out in the O'Connell manor, leaving everyone inside in total darkness. Megan and Alex let out short screams of surprise and momentary terror, as everything became a web of shadows.   
  
Up in the attic, the flashing lightening had given Jennifer a prefect view of her surroundings. However, once she saw what was around her, she was beginning to wish the lightening had never flashed at all. Cobwebs covered everything in sight -a few had even begun to stick to Jennifer's shoes-, rats scurried across the ground, kicking up dust; spiders the size of brushes crawled around on the walls, spinning more cobwebs; junk and boxes of all kinds were piled against the walls and scattered all over the floor, provided prefect hiding places for the creatures that dwelling the attic. Despite the nearly constant lightening, shadows and such still gave the attic a supernatural-like feel to it, even without the spiders and rats.   
Jennifer was beginning to wish she had a candle to provide light when the lightening failed to flash; she'd rather be in the light with all the spiders and rats then in the dark with them.   
The noises that Jennifer had come to investigate were continuing from somewhere in the attic; the claws against the floor and the thumping noises that the "creature" made were louder and creepier then they had been downstairs.   
Jennifer gasped as a large rat ran across her foot, its tiny claws making hollow scratching sounds against her shoes. The rat ran behind Jennifer, the sounds its claws made against the floor were not the same as the clawing sounds Jennifer had heard. A rat was not making the noises; it was something bigger.   
  
Plunged into darkness, Megan and Alex weren't sure what to do. Lightening continued to flash in the sky, casting the pale-yellow light across the room, creating eerie shadows with the most common things.   
"Alex, what are we going to do?" Megan asked, looking at her friend.  
The things that had started the fight between the two old friends had disappeared; Alex and Megan had forgotten their "dislike" for each other. They were the best of friends again, even if they didn't realize it at the moment.   
Alex couldn't answer Megan's question, for he had no answer. Thunder boomed, louder and somewhat closer then it was before. The windows rattled and the couch vibrated with the sound.   
Horus let out a shrill screech that caused both Megan and Alex to jump; the falcon took flight and disappeared from the room. Alex jumped up and ran after the falcon; Megan followed her friend, despite her not wanting to leave the "safety" of the room.   
Horus flew into the parlor, Alex and Megan right behind them. Alex barely glanced at the attic stairs that touched the carpeted ground.   
  
In the attic, Jennifer had no idea that Megan and Alex were running right under her. Her mind was solely on finding out what was making the noises; Jennifer was following the noises, which were getting louder as she was closer.   
Whatever was making the noises was hiding (or was) behind a stack of boxes and other odd stuff. Jennifer summed up her courage (of which she had a lot) and prepared to "surprise" whatever was behind the boxes.   
However, whatever was behind the boxes surprised Jennifer. There was a shrill and bone-chilling yowl and the creature leapt upon one of the boxes. It was bathed in shadow; when the lightening flashed, Jennifer couldn't see the creature but she could see the glare of its claws and bared teeth. The claws were sharp and long and the teeth were razor sharp (looking) as well.   
The creature yowled and leapt off the box; it landed with a large thud -the rapping sound that Jennifer had heard- and ran behind Jennifer and disappeared.   
Jennifer turned around and saw the creature's eyes leering at her from the darkness. There was a yowl and a hiss and the creature disappeared again; Jennifer could hear the creature's claws scrapping against the wood, it was coming toward her.   
There was another yowl and a flash of lightening as the creature leapt at Jennifer; Jennifer screamed and ducked, hitting the ground and landing on a large rat. The rat squealed as Jennifer's knee crushed its spine, killing the rat; the creature landed on the boxes and disappeared again.   
Upon hearing the rat "crack", Jennifer screamed again and leapt to her feet, only to crash headlong into a pile of junk. Jennifer was knocked to the ground again, becoming covered in dust.   
  
From inside the parlor, Alex and Megan could hear Jennifer scream. They looked at each other with pale faces as they heard Jennifer scream again.   
"We have to 'save' her." Alex said and rushed out of the parlor.   
"Wait Alex!" Megan cried and followed her friend. Alex and Megan ran to the stairs and peered into the attic; Jennifer was silent, they could hear nothing in the attic but the sound of rain beating against the window. As they began to climb the stairs, both Alex and Megan silently wished that Jennifer was all right.   
  



	9. The Creature

Chapter Nine   
The Creature   
  
  
  
Alex and Megan entered the attic and looked around for Jennifer; it was impossible for them to see anything but the shadows of things so they had no way of knowing what was Jennifer and what was junk and boxes.   
  
Jennifer wasn't aware that Alex and Megan had entered the attic; she was still recovering from her fall and her fright of the creature. Jennifer felt her heart beat return to normal and her breathing slow from the heavy and quick gulps she was taking.   
  
Megan and Alex began to walk across the attic, not daring to speak and even being afraid to let their breathing be heard. Jennifer could hear the soft footsteps of Alex and Megan, even though she wasn't aware that that was whom the footsteps belonged to. Jennifer's heartbeat began to quicken once again as she listened to the footsteps get closer.   
Megan and Alex could see Jennifer now, on the ground; she appeared to be all right but they couldn't be sure. As they neared her, there was a flash of lightening and a roar of thunder. In the light the lightening offered, Jennifer could see Alex and Megan's face. She let out a heavy sigh of relief and felt her heart beat return to normal.   
Jennifer stood up and walked over to Alex and Megan. "Alex? Megan?" She said, she couldn't help say their names, "I thought I told you two to stay downstairs." Jennifer said.   
"We heard you scream and we wanted to make sure you were okay." Alex said, happy that his aunt was indeed okay.   
Jennifer smiled. "Well thanks for your concern but you two should…" Jennifer began but she was cut off but a yowl from "the creature".   
Megan, Alex and Jennifer all turned to face where the yowl came from. The Creature was on one of the boxes, its eyes were glowing the darkness.   
"What's that?" Megan asked, her voice shrill with fear.  
However, Megan's question went unanswered when The Creature disappeared again.   
"That's it, I'm sick of being afraid. I'm going to find out what that thing is, once and for all." Jennifer said and reached out to find something to protect herself and Alex and Megan with.   
She picked up a rusted and cobweb covered fire-poker and brandished it like a sword. She began to walk toward where the creature had disappeared, Alex and Megan walked behind her; Jennifer held the fire-poker to her side, protecting Alex and Megan from The Creature, should they find it.   
Jennifer used the fire-poker the pushed some of the boxes away; The Creature's eyes peered up at her. The Creature screeched and pounced on Jennifer; Jennifer let out of short scream and flung the fire-poker. The fire-poker missed The Creature, who jumped on Jennifer. Jennifer stumbled backward and tripped over one of the boxes and fell to the ground.   
"Jennifer!" Both Megan and Alex yelled together as they heard Jennifer scream and saw her hit the ground.   
Jennifer grabbed The Creature with her hands to keep it away from her face; she realized that The Creature was not very large and was furry.   
Jennifer stared at The Creature, who stared back at her; The Creature let out a hiss and then meowed. Jennifer suddenly began laughing; 'The Creature' was nothing but the harmless Cleo.   
Jennifer, still laughing and holding Cleo, stood up and turned to face Megan and Alex, who's faces were ghost white with terror. They looked more confused, however, at Jennifer's strange behavior. Jennifer held Cleo out for them to see.   
"It's just Cleo," Jennifer laughed, "We were scared all this time of Cleo."   
Feeling foolish, all three of them -including Cleo- headed out of the attic and back into the house. Jennifer pushed the stairs back up and they folded together and became part of the ceiling again. "Ugh, let's never go up there again." Jennifer muttered.   
Jennifer -covered in dust and cobwebs-, Alex and Megan headed into the sitting room. Cleo snuggled close to Jennifer and began to meow. All three of them sat down and Jennifer looked at Cleo.   
"You had us scared to death you little rascal." Jennifer said to Cleo, who meowed.   
"Not me, I wasn't scared." Alex said, trying to sound brave.   
"You were too scared." Megan said and playfully pushed her friend's shoulder.   
"Okay, maybe just a little." Alex said. All three of them laughed, still feeling foolish but nonetheless safer then they had felt an hour ago.   
Lightening flashed again; with a hiss and a pop, the lights came back on, surprising everyone in the room. Jennifer squinted her eyes as the light filled the room; she let her eyes get used to the returned light.  
Jennifer, Alex and Megan quickly seemed to forget everything that had happened earlier that night.   



	10. Sleep

Chapter Ten   
Sleep   
  
  
  
When Evelyn and Rick returned that night from the party, it was almost midnight. The house was silent; all of the lights were off except the light that was always left on.   
"They must be asleep." Evelyn muttered as she took of her coat and hung it up.   
Evelyn and Rick headed silently up the stairs and down the hall; they quietly opened the door to Jennifer's room. There, in Jennifer's bed, were Jennifer, Alex and Megan -as well as Cleo and Horus- all asleep under the covers. Everyone was peacefully sleeping. Including Jennifer.   



End file.
